A New Beginning
by xanimefanx14x
Summary: Booth wakes up from his coma after brain surgery and can't remember a thing! Can Bones and the others bring their friend back to them? ! Tell me what you think, and if I should continue or not. First real fanfic. R&R PLEASE! Tell others about it! Thx!
1. Chapter 1

"Booth? Booth!"

"Who's Booth? Is that… me?"

A young man lay in a hospital bed with a bandage around his head. In a chair next to him, a young forensic anthropologist named Temperance Brennan was trying not to let her emotions take control of her, something she was not used to having to do. Her partner, the man, Seely Booth, had just come out of brain surgery and had been in a coma for days. He couldn't remember a thing, hence the questions.

"Yes, that's you. Your name is Seely Booth, and you're an FBI agent. I'm your partner, Bones. Hold on a second, Booth." She calmly stood up, left the room, and started yelling for a doctor, startling even herself. A woman in a white lab coat quickly came to her aid, and together they went back to the confused man in the bed.

Booth was lost. Who was he? Where was he? And who were these people that were saying he was this man named Booth? The named seemed slightly familiar…

"Mr. Booth, I'm Doctor Maya Wilson. You were in surgery a while ago and have been in a coma. It's nice to see you awake, but I hear from your partner here that you can't remember anything. Is that true?" The doctor was older than the partners by about ten years, and had black thick hair that went all the way to her waist. Under the coat, she wore a red blouse and a black knee length skirt.

"He doesn't even remember his own name, or me. And we've been partners forever." The FBI agent grinned his charming smile and responded like he would normally.

"Bones, I can talk for myself, all right? Thank you very much." Bones gaped at his words that sounded so much like his regular tone, and he even gaped at himself. "Well, where did that come from."

"It seems you are already getting some subconscious memories from before the surgery. What you have is amnesia, and it's not too uncommon in people out of brain surgery. Now, it's temporary, but we don't know how temporary. Each case is different. It could last a day, a week, a month. You can go home in a week or two to see of you can remember anything in your own surroundings, but until then your friends are just going to have to see if they can get back your memories on their own."

Booth looked confused – again.

"Friends? There's more than one? Can I see them? Maybe they really can help me remember stuff." Booth looked so excited that the doctor just couldn't say no, even though it was against regulations to have so many people visit at once. She left the room to go get Booth and Bones' colleagues and in they spilled. Hodgins, Angela, Zach, Cam and Sweets all filed in with grins on their faces, even though they already knew that Booth couldn't remember them. Then in came someone that Booth knew, and instantly cheered up at seeing.

"Hey, big bro," Jared Booth said as his walked casually through the door, all emotion hidden. "What's shakin'?"


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as his brother walked in, Seely Booth began to see images in his head, memories of arguments with his brother over joining the army, over his younger sibling's drinking problem, over this partner of his named Bones.

Jared saw his brother recognize him and grinned inwardly, feeling some of the tension knotting up in his stomach release. Then came a wave of guilt that was the only one that Booth recognized. But, in a way, that wasn't entirely true.

Along with the complete memories of his brother, Seely also remembered bits and pieces of information about his other colleagues. Not many details, but enough to make him more comfortable in talking to them. Angela, the artist who was mixing up emotions between her ex-boyfriend Hodgins and her ex-girlfriend Roxy. Hodgins, the secretly rich bug expert who believed in conspiracies everywhere and was still in love with Angela. Zach, the kid genius that helped a serial killer based on logic alone. Cam, their boss and his on and off again girlfriend. Sweets, the psychologist that was always trying to read too much into things.

Of course, not all of these details were laid out for him, but Seely Booth was an ex-sniper who even after brain surgery was capable of inferring. Wait, he was an ex-sniper? Learn new things everyday…

But he didn't remember much about his own partner. Only that she was deeply embedded in her work and never really showed any character or excitement unless she was worked up about something. And that she was beautiful. Really beautiful. _Oh crap,_ he thought. _I'm practically in love with someone I can't even remember enough to talk to as if I normally would unless it comes out involuntarily. This is going to be like a high school crush… what was that like again?_

"Hey, Booth. Remember me?" Hodgins asked jokingly, already knowing the answer. He tried to hide his feelings about being forgotten by one of his best friends. It didn't happen everyday, you know. Booth surprised him by saying aloud some of what was going on in his head.

"Yeah, Hodgins the bug guy. You still king of the lab or is it Zach? He then paused and thought for a while. A confused expression came over his face. "What's king of the lab?"


	3. Chapter 3

A week later Booth was sent home to see if he could remember anything there. All he had remembered in the past week was that he liked that diner down near the Jeffersonian. He couldn't even remember the name.

Hodgins was staying with him through the next week or two in case something happened or Booth couldn't remember where something was. Bones insisted that she stay, but Hodgins, along with the rest of the team, thought that he would be more… friendly… in trying to get Booth's memory back. Knowing Brennan, she would probably hit him over the head with a skillet and say it was a proven half-cure for amnesia, even though she was just trying to help.

"So this is my place, eh? I gotta say, I have nice taste." One memory came to him of being on medication with a hurt back, high as a kite, and still trying to get back to work. He told Hodgins eagerly, excited about the new memory as if it were Christmas.

When they both got settled in, Booth sat down next to Hodgins on the couch and asked him what Hodgins thought was a peculiar question.

"Tell me about Bones. Does she like me? What's she like?" Hodgins frowned. Brennan was the one who spent the most time with Booth, more than all of the others put together. Why couldn't he remember her about all the others?

"Well, Brennan is… an oddball. She cares very deeply about her work, and nothing can get in her way when she's onto something. Or your way, for that matter. You like her a lot. And she always has to look after you, she's practically you sister. I remember the time the Gravedigger had you trapped on a boat rigged to flood. She was so worried… And before that, there was the time the Gravedigger kidnapped me and Brennan and put us six feet under. You finally found us in the desert when in a last attempt to escape we blew up the car and you saw the small puff of smoke at the surface. And when you did get us out, Angela said that you were the one person who never thought for a second that you weren't going to find us in time. I've always wondered when you guys were going to get together. I mean, it's practically inevitable."

Booth remembered some of this, but most of all he remembered when she was spending Christmas with her family and they couldn't have a tree because of her father…

"Why couldn't Bones' father have a tree for Christmas? I remember getting a tree and lighting it outside to surprise her…"

Hodgins paused, then spoke. "Since you already kind of know, I guess I don't have to run it by Brennan. Her father killed someone and is in jail, but got out for Christmas under guard for the night. I guess they thought that he'd take something from the tree and start killing his family. The law's a bitch sometimes. I blame the politicians."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Conspiracy over here. I remember that now! Always drove me nuts."


	4. Chapter 4

Booth was left alone during the day when Hodgins had to go to work. He himself wasn't allowed to go back to work until he regained him memory. So, like the doctor told him not to when he left the hospital, he sat down on the couch in front of the blank TV and tried to force his memory.

_Booth and Bones sitting at a bar talking about their people skills and arguing over who is better at talking to people._

_Booth running after a killer clown while Bones saves a girl the clown had kidnapped and put in a room full of snakes._

_Booth seeing dead people while trying to get off of a sinking boat._

_Hodgins and Angela fighting over…something._

Booth shook his head violently and lay down in an attempt to wash away the quick images.

_Booth digging up dirt in the desert to get to his partner and Hodgins._

_Zach sneaking out of a mental facility to help solve a case that Hodgins had let him in on._

_Hodgins grief-stricken and trying to hide it when he thought that when Zach blew himself up it was his fault._

_Talking to Bones in the diner._

_Dinner with Cam secretly._

_Watching Bones interrogate someone without Booth._

Faster and faster they came, until Booth just had to get out of the room and breathe. He decided to go to the Jeffersonian, since he also remembered where that was. Maybe his coworkers could help him remember… easier.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, people, I'm running out of memories. I need some suggestions!! Thanks for reading!

Booth drove his black federal vehicle to the Jeffersonian, anxious for something to do. As soon as he walked into the building, people from all over the place who had heard about his amnesia were coming around and introducing themselves. Some he partially remembered; others, nothing.

"Booth! What are you doing here, sir? Doctor Brennan said you wouldn't be back until you regained your memory. Has it? Come back, I mean." A man came up to him with a blue lab coat and a scraggly face that Booth faintly recalled.

"Hey, you're the guy with all the random, totally unneeded facts that come out at all the wrong times. What was your name again?" The man seemed undecided between being happy he was partially remembered, disappointed he was _only_ partially remembered, and put out at Booth's comment. He covered his indecision with a simple, "You call me Mr. Fisher," and got back to work.

At that moment, Bones came up to him with a look that said it all.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home resting on that old couch of yours. And how did you even get in? Only employees and agents can get it, and at the moment you're only a civilian." Booth, grinning, knew just what the old him would probably say.

"Ah, Watson, but I still have my credentials." He held them up.

Bones looked confused.

"My name's not Watson."

"Sherlock Holmes, Bones, Sherlock Holmes."

"Who's Sherlock Holmes?"

"You know, never mind. Just forget it." He rolled his eyes, and another memory came to him of finding out a murder weapon was a guitar string by cutting cheese with it and making a joke out of it.

Booth sat on Hodgins' desk, where he was examining some fly larvae.

"So, what's the case?"

"Don't answer that, Jack," Angela walked up to them with a picture in her hand, obviously on the same side as Brennan. "He's not supposed to be here. We're not supposed to tell him anything." Hodgins shrugged.

"Oh, what's the big deal? Ok, here's the case: Married couple after the reception, go up to their suite, no one disturbs them for a couple of days, according to the fly count, and then someone comes knocking and finds them both dead, a gun in the husband's hands. Cops are writing it off as a murder-suicide, but so far the evidence proves someone else came in and killed them both, and staged it."

"Yes, the wife wasn't shot, she was bludgeoned to death." Bones had come up behind Booth and made him jump.

"Well gee, Bones, thanks for telling me you were behind me. Am I always so… hyped up? I feel like I've had a zillion cups of coffee… Do I like coffee?"

His colleagues looked at each other. Man, did he like coffee.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry I didn't do a chapter yesterday, I was sick. To make up for it, I'm going to do 2 chapters today! And to that person who gave me the long review about the assistant, you probably are right, but for now I'm just going to leave it like this. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

Booth was put in Brennan's office where everyone thought he would do less damage.

No more memories had come to mind with his coming to the Jeffersonian. This disappointed him, but soon he was cheered up with a distraction.

Cam walked in with a manila envelope in her hands.

"Here." She tossed it on the desk beside the chair in which Seely Booth, ex-sniper and FBI agent, was swiveling like a little kid. "These are the crime scene photos and pictures of the bodies you saw when you walked in. I don't like giving them to you, but _my_ boss says to, so see if you see anything we missed. Maybe some of you FBI skills will come back naturally."

As she walked out, Bones joined Booth and sat on the sofa. Booth tossed his head in the direction of Cam.

"Is she always like that? She's one of the people that I only know by brief detail so far. She seems… bossy." He opened the envelope and grimaced. "Nice. This isn't the worst we've had, is it." He said it more like a statement than a question. Bones answered what she could.

"Cam is just… Cam. Who else do you barely remember? And no, that's not the worst."

Booth spread the photos out on the desk, his sharp eyes already examining them.

"I don't want to talk about my memory. Any sign of forced entry?" He pointed to a picture of the door lock and said, "It looks picked, although I can't say for sure." Bones nodded, and he continued. "Probably used a professional set of picks. I've got one at home somewhere."

"We found a part of a pick in the lock. No finger prints though. Good job, Booth."

"Thanks. This guy's not an amateur, I don't think. He's probably done this before, if not here than somewhere else. Look at the spray of blood on the walls. No blood on the floor. He either did that one purpose or cleaned the floor afterwards." He added, pointing to another picture. "Now, onto the bodies."

Booth went straight to the cleaned bones, ignoring the pictures of them before cleaning.

"Is that a break at the wrist? He asked his partner, who got up and joined him at the desk. She shook her head.

"Actually, no. Look closer. What do you see on the chips of bone… here?" She pointed. Booth looked.

"Diamond-shaped pattern… Oh my god! I've seen this thing before! I know what the murder weapon is!" Bones smiled, already knowing the answer. "A hammer!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Booth, I have to say, I'm glad you're handling this as well as you are." Psychologist Sweets sat in his recliner with Booth and Bones on the couch in front of him.

"What do you mean, Sweets?" Booth asked. He remembered everything about the psychologist, about his nosiness and the experiments he secretly tried between the two partners.

"I mean, if you were in the right state of mind, like your usual self, then you would probably be pacing back and forth."

"Why would I do that?" Unfortunately, Booth didn't quite remember everything about himself. To tell the truth, he did want to pace, and as he spoke he got up and did just that.

"You like to be in control of things. It's just your way. See, I bet you didn't even know you got up and started pacing when I said that was what you would usually do."

Booth didn't even know what the psychologist was talking about until he looked down at his feet. As he did, he remembered something else, something important. He sat down with a thump, eyes wide.

"Oh my God. OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod." That was all he said for a minute or two, trying to get his thoughts together. "That's wild. That's nuts. Damn, what a memory to spring on someone. Are you crazy?" He addressed Bones, suddenly sharp and alert, almost panicky. "Me? Why me?"

"What is it, Booth? What do you remember? What are you talking about?" But Temperance Brennan had a feeling she already knew what was going to come out of Booth's mouth, and she braced her scientific mind for an emotional breakdown from her spiritually lost partner.

"A baby? You, with a baby, with me? Me? I have one son that I only half remember, and now this smashes down over my head?" He shook his head. "Talk about your epiphanies. Jeez, that came outta nowhere. Why didn't anyone tell me?" He held his head in his hands. "Oh my God. I remember Stewie from Family Guy talking to me out of the frickin' TV. I shut it off and unplugged it and he still came back. Why won't he go away?"

"Booth, I need you to look at me. Calm down, Booth. Hey, you're ok." Sweets calmed him down, his own heart racing from the current events.

"Is he ok, Sweets?" Bones asked, not knowing as much about psychological things than him, though she hated to admit it.

"Yeah, he'll be all right. Just let him… rest." Booth had conked out right on the couch.

Hours later, Booth woke up in Sweets' office on the couch.

"What the…" He got up and went out to the hallway where Bones, Sweets and the others were talking. "Bones? Guys? How did I get in Sweets' office? And what the hell is going on?"


	8. Chapter 8

Sitting in the hospital after seemingly regaining his memory (even though he couldn't remember forgetting it), Booth waited for the doctor's verdict and the test results.

The last thing he remembered was seeing Bones' face right before going into surgery and they knocked him out. He remembered thinking he wanted another kid. He didn't remember leaving this very same hospital two days before and not being able to remember a thing.

"Ok, Booth. Here we go." The doctor came in, trailed by all of Booth's co-workers. "The tests show that your brain is fine, everything tumor-related is gone. The amnesia was just a very inconvenient side effect. You have nothing to worry about. And you can get back to work, although I hear you already have."

Booth looked confused.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we thought maybe giving you some crime scene photos would help you get back you memory, and even though it didn't, you found out what the murder weapon was. Now we just have to find it."

Cam left out that fact that they already knew what the weapon was before Booth figured it out.

Jared Booth sat at his brother's bedside, looking more comfortable in the cushioned chair than Booth in his bed.

"Jared!" Booth exclaimed, finally realizing that his brother was there. "You're supposed to be in India! What are you doing back in the States?"

At the sound of his name, Jared shot straight up like and arrow. When he understood what Booth was talking about, he grinned that famous Booth grin that seemed to run in the family.

"Well, I couldn't just let my brother have brain surgery without someone sane around," he said, glaring at the doctor. "If I had been here before you checked in, I could have told you not to come here. I've seen the rate of accident in this place. Not cool. You probably wouldn't have had amnesia if you had gone to another hospital," Jared fumed.

Hodgins and the older Booth brother laughed together.

"Chill out, Jared. He's fine now, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah, little brother. I'm fine, you're fine, everyone's fine." He looked at Angela and Hodgins, who had their arms around each other. "Some of us are more than fine. You guys back together again or what? Seriously, you have to figure this out."

They grinned.

"Well, your brain thing made us realize how short life is. So we sort of figured, why not?" Angela said.

Booth hesitated for a moment.

"Well," he finally replied. "You're welcome?"


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the wait, guys, but I've been having a problem with mega headaches and haven't really been able to think. Doing the best I can, so bear with me! Please R and R!!

For the second time in two days, Booth went home to his apartment from the hospital.

"Booth, are you sure you're going to be okay with just Brennan around?" Hodgins and Bones had fought again over who was going to stay with Booth, but this time Bones won. "She can be a little... overwhelming, as you know so well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bones asked, dragging her belongings into the apartment as Hodgins got ready to bring his stuff back to his place.

"He didn't mean anything by it, Bones. He's just jealous," he added, shrugging to Hodgins with a 'what are ya gonna do?' look. "Anyway, we have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, I guess you do," Hodgins agreed, holding up his hands in a ''I really don't want any part of this conversation' position. "I'll see you back at work tomorrow, Booth."

Hodgins left and Bones unpacked in the apartment's guest room. Seely vegged in front of the TV until she was done, drinking a nice cool beer to wash the aftereffects of the day away.

"Man, I'm bushed," he stated as his partner sat on the lounge chair next to him. Booth switched the TV off. "So. Let's talk."

Bones looked at him uncertainly.

"All right," she began. "Well, I've been thinking about this whole baby thing with you as the father, and I realize that when you agreed to give me some of your sperm, you may not have been in the right frame of mind." Booth tried to protest, but Bones stopped him. "Let me finish. Ok. So, that said, I'm going to ask you again just so I know for sure. Of course, we're going to have to go to the fertilization clinic again, but…"

Booth shuddered at the mention of the center where his craziness began to show itself, but then straightened up and responded to his partner's statement.

"Bones, you and me are going to have a baby, ok? Got it? If anything, this whole experience has only made me want another kid more. I'll do whatever you want, but you _are_ going to have this baby, whether we do it the old-fashioned way or the modern way." He stood up and looked at the clock on the wall. It was ten o'clock. "Now. Go to bed so we can get to work on that case tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 10

Bones CH. 10

"Booth! Hey, wake up, Booth. Got to go to work." Bones shook her partner's shoulder at 7:00 in the morning with a persistent smile on her face. "We have to solve a case, remember?"

Booth opened his eyes with a groan and reluctantly sat up.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'." After getting dressed in his usual suit and tie, Booth joined Bones in the kitchen where she was chewing on a bagel. "So, Bones, what's your theory on the case?"

She hesitated, swallowing, and answered the question.

"Well, with the evidence we have so far, it looks like our murderer was either disguised as someone working at the hotel, was someone working at the hotel, or just made themselves as inconspicuous as possible, enough so no one noticed them. The murder looked premeditated, so it's not like the person panicked and left the bodies there. There was no blood on the floor, as you pointed out before you gained your memory back, so the killer probably cleaned up or was used to killing people. There wasn't a hammer in the suite, and when we checked their home, the hammer was a different type. No other evidence that the person was someone the victims knew, but he was definitely in the hotel before the wedding party came up from the ballroom at the bottom of the hotel. The only people that came in were in groups of three and four, and the cameras caught them all night, in the hotel restaurant."

Booth contemplated. "So we're thinking it was a guy inside the hotel already with his own tools and…!" An idea came to Booth that made his face light up as the pair left the apartment building, coats in hand. "Maybe the guy was acting as a fixer-upper, in one of the suite nearby, so he wouldn't be noticed as easily and people wouldn't ask questions.

"A fixer-upper?" Bones asked, confused. Her scientific mind wasn't used to that term.

"A handyman, Bones, like a plumber. That way he could have a hammer and still walk around without people asking him what he was doing with a hammer in a hotel. Though I suppose that kind of hotel wouldn't really have regular handymen walking around all those rich people."

"What do you mean?" Another question from Bones.

"Jeez, you really are clueless sometimes." They got in the car and began to drive to the Jeffersonian. "Where's your car?" He asked.

"It's at the Jeffersonian already. When we brought you back to the hospital yesterday, I rode with Angela and Cam, and Zach helped me get my things to your place."

"Whatever. Anyway, rich people don't like to be reminded that there are people below them that are different, so they have people that look nice and pretty and can still do the ordinary jobs around the patrons without looking like they should be out on the streets."

"Well, that's stupid. People don't think like that. You're just cynical. You're starting to sound like Hodgins with all your conspiracy stuff." Bones shook her head. "And by the way, what did you mean by I'm going to have the baby the old-fashioned way?" Booth stomped on the brakes, slamming both of them forward.

"Damn, Bones, do we have to talk about this while I'm driving? And anyway, I didn't mean anything by it. Just forget it." He looked at her quickly, hoping his emotions wouldn't show on his face.

Was that disappointment he saw? _Nah,_ he thought, looking back at the road ahead. _Couldn't be._


	11. Chapter 11

_OK, so I was working on this chapter on my palm thing, like a little computer that can't go online. It was the best chapter ever! I was so proud of it! But then, being the stupid girl I am, I brought it to JCPenney and left it on a shelf and 5 minutes later when I realized I didn't have it I went back and it was gone. Damn! So I tried to remember what I could and fill in what I couldn't so see what you think, even though the other one was SO much better. If I ever get it back, which I highly doubt I will, I'll put it up._

_UGH! If someone steals my story we're going to have some serious issues._

_I am sooooo off-kilter. It took me a week to write this thing with the original!_

They arrived at the Jeffersonian a couple of minutes later, crossing the threshold surrounded by friends congratulating Booth on his "speedy recovery"

In response, though, the partners were stoic, trying to forget their conversation in the car for the moment. As they got to the lab and swiped their ID cards at the entrance, Booth got right to business.

"So do we have any suspects? Any witnesses, a murder weapon, anything that would portray anyone else as the killer?"

"No, but there are cameras in the front of the hotel and someone in front of the surrounding buildings. Do you want me to check them, Booth?" Angela stood up from her position next to Hodgins.

Booth nodded. "Make sure you go back two days, and not accidentally look at yesterday's. Two days, right Hodgins?"

"Yeah, according to the pupae and larvae that I got off the body. There was also some compost on the bottom of the victim's shoe, but I don't know how it could have gotten there if they stayed in their room for the entire time."

"Unless they didn't." Angela said, walking back to her office where she could work in peace. She turned back halfway there, putting her hands on her hips. "Am I the only one around here that knows how to work computers? Seriously, my job is drawing. That's it. You guys are the whizkids." She stomped back in the direction she was going, not really angry but certainly playing the part.

"Ooook. Anyway, what's the verdict?" The group turned to Zach, who was looming over the bodies like a vulture – only, looking less like he wanted to eat them.

"The fracture on the wrist of the female victim indicates that maybe she was the second victim, and saw her husband being assaulted, tried to stop the killer and got hit in the wrist in the hammer to get her off him/her. Another thing that Mr. Fisher and I noticed was that there were slight knife cuts on the bones of both vics, maybe pointing towards our subdoer." When they looked at him strangely, he added, "You know, the thing that made both vics not really seem to fight back."

"Then again, it could also indicate the element of surprise. Couple looks to get ready for some nooky, separate into different rooms, and both are caught unaware, not knowing that their partner is being attacked." From the FBI agent, who had his hand on his chin, as if stroking a beard. "All right. Have any other agents from the FBI or otherwise talk to any of the family members that were at the wedding and/or reception? Who knows, maybe the killer slid in with them?"

Angela came up behind him. "You may be right about that," she said. "I took a look at the camera angle of the reception party coming in, and there was one guy who didn't really seem to fit in." She gave him a still of the man. He studied it.

"Well, looks like we have our first suspect."


	12. Chapter 12

Ok, at the end of this chapter, when Booth says he's gonna take Manning to the 'station' is that right? Where DO Booth and Bones take their suspects? The FBI building? The local police station? I don't know, not that it matters that much. And is 'mirandized' right?

The man sitting in the office at the Peters & Manning law firm looked like a reliable guy. The name on the door said Sawyer Manning. He was getting his paperwork done as Booth and Bones walked into his office.

"What do ya need? A divorce? A prenup? You want it, I can do it."

"Are you Sawyer Manning?" Booth asked of the lawyer, showing his badge. The man sat back in his chair, surprised.

"Whoa. Yeah, man, that's me. Call me Sawyer." For a lawyer, he sure didn't talk like one. "What's going on?"

"We're going to need to ask you a few questions." Booth said. Then Bones asked,

"Did you know a couple named Jonathan and Margaret Fanworth?" She asked about the victims. Booth gave her a look. "What?"

"Bones, I got this." He turned back to the lawyer as Bones rolled her eyes and began examining the office. "Did you know them?"

The man thought for a moment, shuffling through some pikes of paper.

"Yeah, yeah, about a week ago. Wanted a prenup, said they were getting married in a couple of days. Why, is something wrong?"

The partners looked at each other, having a silent conversation. In agreement, Bones nodded.

"They were found dead after their wedding two days ago. I'm sorry," she added as Sawyer's face was flooded with emotion. They gave him a moment to collect himself, then Booth asked,

"Did you see them more than once, Mr. Manning?" Before Sawyer could answer, a beefy man entered the room behind them with a look on his face that would curdle milk.

"Sawyer, who are these people and what do they want with you? Are they the police? Do you need a lawyer?" And then, in a paternal tone, "What did you do?"

The younger man looked angry for a moment, and then softened as quickly as he had become angered.

"They say –"he paused, taking a deep breath. "They say that two of my clients were murdered after their wedding. I swear I didn't know anything about it. Really, you have to believe me."

Another pause, as if getting his act together.

"Da—Mr. Booth, ma'am, this is my father and my boss, Mr. Louis Manning, partner of this law firm." Before the words were out of his mouth, his father, who was getting into a habit of doing this, interrupted loudly and said,

"Don't say anything else, son, we'll get you out of this. I know the best lawyers and – who am I kidding, I'm the best lawyer there is!" He turned to Booth and Bones, who had silently watched the conversation with interest, picking every sentence apart. "Now are you going to arrest him, or question him, or what?"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to take him down to the station and ask you a few questions." He Mirandized Sawyer and handcuff him gently. "Mr. Manning, sir, you can come with us if you like, if you're going to be your son's lawyer."

"I'll meet you down there."


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry this is coming… whenever this gets up, cuz the Internet here on the 8__th__ is all messed up, and whenever I get to upload this, it's probably gonna be in a while. Thanks for reading and leave a review!_

Sitting in the back of Booth's big and black federal vehicle, Sawyer Manning complained _a lot_. He spent the entire ride whining about his rights and the lack of dignity in being handcuffed.

"I mean, can't you just take them off? I'm not gonna run or anything. Honest!"

Booth rolled his eyes, and then looked at Bones.

"This guy must be a new lawyer, or he would know that this is like a procedure. Just trying to do everything right."

Bones was, as she always did, contemplating the scene at the law office.

"Do you have a thing with lawyers? I've never seen you act so nice to one. Really, I think that's the nicest I've seen you act to someone related to or involved with a suspect."

Another eye roll.

"It's not that I like lawyers – they make things overcomplicated, trying to botch up investigations. It's just that I don't see a reasons for being a hardass when I don't have to be, OK?"

"Sure, Booth."

When they finally got to the interrogations room, Manning Sr. was waiting there with a water bottle in his hand.

"So," he said as the trio sat down with him, Sawyer on his side and the partners on the other. "What's this all about?"

Booth slapped a manilla envelope on the table, which contained a picture of Sawyer entering the hotel. In the picture, he was dressed in a green hooded sweatshirt and jeans, with big black boots on.

"We have reason – very good reason, as you can see – to believe that your client, or son, knows something about a double homicide that was commit about a week ago. Sawyer, why were you at the hotel on the night of the murder of Jonathan and Margaret Fanworth?"

"They invited me."

Booth smirked. "I find that hard to believe, seeing the way you were dressed."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to go, but I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop in to say congrats. Honest, you can ask, oh, I think it was the bride's mother, because me and her talked while someone went to find the newlyweds to come see me. I didn't want to go into the actual reception looking like I did, thinking I might embarrass them. And when they came out to talk to me, they were alive, definitely alive. But they looked worried, or nervous about something. Almost scared."

"Well, I can definitely believe that, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. It's not something to just do, you have to think about it. What's so unusual about being worried on your wedding day? A lot can go wrong…"

"Not like worried-scared, like someone's-coming-for-me scared. They looked petrified. They should have been happy." Sawyer looked at the partners innocently. "Then after I saw them I left and went back home. You can check the cameras I have in my house." When Booth looked at him oddly, he added, "To watch my kids. Can I speak with my father alone for a moment?" Impatient from waiting, Manning Sr. was drumming his fingers on the table rapidly, almost impossibly fast.

"Sure, sure. I think we're done here anyway."

As the partners left the room, Bones' eyebrows furrowed, and she immediately frowned as the door closed behind them.

"Sawyer's father seemed in a hurry to get this over with. Notice he didn't try to jump into the middle of the conversation with objections and things like that. And the younger man's tone, it seemed almost… too smooth. But what do I know, you're the people person."

Booth nodded. "Right. So, figuring that Manning's telling the truth, what do we do now?"

A shrug from the intellectual. "I'll call Hodgins and Cam, see if they've found anything."


	14. Chapter 14

"Ok, thanks Hodgins." Bones closed her cell phone as the [air reached the car. "Nothing new on the bodies, but there was traces of mud found on the ground near the bodies."

"Mud?"

"Not just any mud, according to Hodgins. Mud from California. Only California. There's no way that someone tracked mud on their shoes all the way here to Washington. At least, it's highly improbably."

"Ok, so we have mud. So what. Tons of people fly from California to here all the time, for vacations." Booth drove around the block as he speculated, narrowly avoiding a black Mercedes that sped through a red light. "Damn it! I hate it when people do that." Another screech as a police car trailed closely behind it. "Anyway. Anything from Angela?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm wondering if maybe someone flew in for the wedding," Bones said.

"From California?"

"From California. I'll call Angela to confirm it so we can stop going in circles. Hey, Ange?" Bones said into her cell phone. "Check if anyone from the wedding flew in from California, will you? If you can't, can you call that agent that's filled in for Booth a lot and see if you can get her to check it out? Thanks."

Booth frowned, and asked Bones when she got off the phone why she didn't just have him use his contacts.

"It's easier this way," she replied.

A few minutes later, as they began to head toward the Jeffersonian, Angela called back with results.

"Yeah, I have someone here from California that was at the wedding." After another moment of furious typing, she added an, "Uh-oh."

"What is it, Ange?" Booth asked after she was put on speaker phone.

"The guy who came from California, his name is Justin Hope. And guess what?"

"What, Angela? Just spit it out already!"

"OK, ok. Well, you'll never believe this."

"Angela, I'm warning you…" Booth growled.

"It's the bride's brother. No way he killed his own sister and brother-in-law, right? Right?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh, man," Booth ran his hand over his face and grimaced. Bones thanked her friend and hung up.

"What is it, Booth?"

"Why does it have to be the brother?"

"What does it matter?" she asked.

"Because now when we question him, the man is going to get all righteous on us, saying we've got the wrong guy, the real guy that killed his precious sister is still out there and why am I wasting my time on him."

"Oh. So act like he's important and a big part of the investigation," Bones said to ease her partner's… distress.

"Well, what's the address again?" He changed the subject as they turned onto the street Angela had told them minutes before.

"The house should be right…there. What a beautiful house!" They turned into the driveway of a large Victorian house that was painted white with dark shutters. There was a Lexus in the driveway, along with a… Ferrari?

"I guess he must be making a lot of money. As in, a _lot_ of money." Booth commented when they parked. They got out and slammed the doors shut.

Before they got to the stairs, a woman came out, a panicked look on her face.

"Is there any news?" she cried out. "Do you know who killed my brother?'

The partners looked at each other. Her brother? Weren't there her for the bride's brother, not the groom's sister? Bones saw something on the woman's face that made her gasp, but before either of the partners could speak, a man in a wrinkled suit came out behind her and put his hands on her hips.

"It's ok, honey, They'll fins out who did it." She ran back into the house, and he came down the porch steps to greet Booth and Bones.

"Hello, I'm Justin Hope, and that was my wife, Ruth."

When the pair looked confused, he laughed, although it was full of tension.

"I'm guessing you're wondering about that. I married Ruth, and then my sister fell in love with her brother. Come in, come in. I'm guessing you have some questions for us."

"Oh, yes. I'm Seely Booth with the FBI, and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan." They followed Hope into the spacious house and were amazed. The only black item that was visible was a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. Everything else was white, from the walls to the bureaus to the vases on them. They were lead to another room, and this one was the same. Even the couches, covered in plastic, were white and spotless.

"Let me call my wife in here. She's making tea. Honey!"

The woman from the porch came into the room supported by another woman that, looking at her apron, must have been the housekeeper. When the woman raised her head, Brennan let out an, "Oh my".

The woman had a large bruise covering her entire face.


	16. Chapter 16

"What happened, ma'am?" Booth asked Mrs. Hope as she sat down next to Bones, on the opposite side of the room as her husband.

"I...I fell." She was a quiet woman, and her voice barely carried to the other side of the room.

"Oh, honey, when did that happen? That wasn't there before these FBI people arrived. Did you fall making the tea?"

"Yes, yes, that's what happened. Silly me, I tripped over my own feet and landed face first."

Bones frowned, noticing something. She leaned over and whispered in Booth's ear.

"Mr. Hope, sir, we're going to have to speak to you individually, so if you and I can talk somewhere else..." They got up and left the room to the three ladies, Hope clearly unhappy with the turn of events. When they were gone, Bones let her inner fury show, which was not something she did often.

"Mrs. Hope, I'm going to be blunt, and I need you to be honest with me. Does your husband beat you? If he does, we can have him out of here if that's what's going on," she said.

The woman looked stoic, but the housekeeper behind her shifted her eyes to where the men had gone.

"Miss Ruth, ma'am, please, before he comes back, tell this FBI lady the truth or I will." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. So please, tell her."

"Oh, Bridget!" Mrs. Hope broke down, loud sobs breaking out through the house. Bones heard an exclamation from where Booth was talking to Hope, and quickly closed and locked all doors to the room. "Don't let him in here! Please, don't let him in!"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Hope. He can't get you now."

"He hurt me! He hurt me so bad!" she sobbed.

"Miss Brennan, ma'am, can you please take him away? The last time police came here about our next door neighbors, he beat her afterwards so bad that when he left for work the next day I took her to the hospital. I fear her will kill her next." Then as gasp as she covered her mouth.

Bones stared at Bridget.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked sharply.

"LET ME IN!" Hope screamed outside the door. Booth could be heard trying to calm him down. "LET ME IN WOMAN OR I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"BOOTH!" Bones shouted as the oldest door, the one Hope was pushed on, began to give.

"NO!" The two ladies behind her screamed in unison.

A gunshot rang out.


End file.
